Ajina Thapa Magar is from Gorkha and is currently in the 4th year of her Bachelor's at Padmakanya Multiple Campus. With a keen interest in creative fields, she enjoys watching anime, dancing, and exploring UI/UX design.

Jagriti Kumari, from Janakpur, is a passionate IT graduate with a Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology (BEIT) from NCIT College. She has a strong interest in coding and how technology works. This drives her to constantly explore and learn more about this dynamic field. She has a strong desire to acquire new skills and delve into emerging technologies, as she believes continuous learning is essential for personal and professional growth. She enjoys challenging herself and exploring new areas that push her beyond her comfort zone. Her future goal is to contribute and serve in the field of technology by creating impactful solutions that help solve real-world problems. With a curious mind and an adaptable approach, she aspires to make a meaningful difference in the tech industry.

Libina Rai is a 7th-semester bachelor's student in Computer Science and Information Technology (CSIT) at Trinity International College, with a deep passion for painting. She also enjoys playing basketball and volleyball, which energize her and keep her motivated, fostering teamwork and resilience. Additionally, she loves exploring nature through hiking and trekking.

Neetu Rai is from Solukhumbu and is currently in the 3rd year of her Bachelor's at Padmakanya Multiple Campus. Eager to learn new things, she has a helping nature and enjoys coding, particularly in React, frontend development, and the MERN stack.

Nima Bhuti Gurung has completed her +2 in the Management Faculty (Commerce). She is from Dolpa and is currently learning coding. Her hobbies include scripting short stories, drawing, and learning new things.

Ramkala Bhujel lives in Madhyapur Thimi-2, Bhaktapur, and has completed a bachelor's in Information and Communication in Education. She is interested in listening to songs, reading books, learning new things, and cooking food. Her future goal is to become an independent and successful woman.

Ranju Shrestha, originally from Sukedhara, Kathmandu, is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Applications. She has a passion for designing and enjoys using various computer tools to bring her ideas to life. Her future goal is to excel in the field of IT while enhancing her designing skills in Nepal. Ranju loves designing because it allows to transform her ideas into something creative and useful.

Samten Lhamu Lama comes from the beautiful village of Ringmo in the Phoksundo region in Dolpo. She is currently pursuing her plus-two degree in science, majoring in computer science as one of the subjects. She enjoys sports and experiencing new things. She plans to pursue a career in computer engineering. Samten is a very spontaneous person, as she makes a lot of unplanned decisions on the spot.

Shirisha Singh is from Tankeshwor, Kalimati, and is currently studying BCA (5th semester). She loves crocheting in her leisure time. Her future goal is to improve herself in various fields, expanding her knowledge and skills to adapt to a changing world. A fun fact about her is that she confidently sings the wrong lyrics.

Sophia Rai is from Imadol, Lalitpur. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Computer Applications. She loves coding and reading books. She sees herself becoming an IT professional in Nepal. A fun fact about her is that she loves debugging others' code.

Sushila Ghimire is from Bhaisepati, Lalitpur. She completed her +2 in Management from Deepkunj Higher Boarding School and is currently staying at home, learning Japanese language. She is interested in reading and watching anime.

Sushma Maharjan is from the historic city of Patan, Nepal. She has completed her Bachelor's degree in Business Studies from Blue Bird College, which is affiliated with Tribhuvan University. She enjoys dancing, traveling, and learning new things. Dancing helps her express herself and stay active, while traveling allows her to explore new cultures and experiences. She also has a strong curiosity for learning, so she is constantly seeking out new knowledge and skills. Her future goal is to specialize in fields such as data analysis or software development. She is committed to gaining new skills and plans to pursue certifications or advanced courses to strengthen her expertise. A fun fact about her is that she has a knack for picking up new dance styles quickly. She can learn a variety of dances from around the world in no time!

Benju Lwagun is a writer at Global Voices. In her articles, she focuses on the issues of Migrant Workers, Women's Rights, and Caste Based Discriminations of Nepal. She has a master’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism and has more than 6 years of work experience in the Development Communications and Public Relations Sector in Nepal and Myanmar. She is currently based in Amman, Jordan. In her free time, Benju likes to sing, listen to music and read books.

Topraj Gurung is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He first started coding in 1999 and has since then worked at Google, Facebook and startups in various capacities. He got his PhD in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. In his free time, he loves following NBA basketball.

Pawan Benjamin is a professional musician and a technology educator.

Puran is a Dad and a Software Engineer currently living in Walnut Creek, California. He is a Co-founder/Head of Engineering at a health-tech company providing market access platform for the prescription drug manufacturers. He’s been working in the Software Industry for almost 15 years now and has worked for small/large companies like Yahoo, Intuit, and Shutterfly before co-founding Phil in 2015.

He’s also a founding member/president of PDRC that provides access and support to the students from the marginalized community for their higher education. He’s one of the very early and very few members from the marginalized community in Nepal to graduate from the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus on a full scholarship by securing the first rank in a nationwide entrance examination. He always felt the lack of good mentorship and guidance throughout his academic and professional career and feels strongly about solving it for the younger generation of students and professionals. That’s one big reason he started HamroGroup.org.

If he’s not playing with his son, he loves to read and build things on the side to learn, explore, and help others.

Rushil Shakya is a technology educator who is passionate about making the sector more inclusive. He has worked in leadership capacities in large fortune 500 company as well as in technology startup. He has also volunteered his time and expertise for a number of social justice organizations in Nepal and the United States.

Aditi Mody is currently on the Board of Trustee at the University of Chicago Trust ( since February 2018).

Aditi was the Former Executive Director at the University of Chicago Trust (2016- 2021) where she provided strategic and administrative leadership in promoting research, education, and engagement of the University in multi sector policy and program implementation within the region.

She was also the Former Executive Director of the UChicago Center in India Private Limited (2016-2020) where she worked closely with the University of Chicago’s academic and administrative leaders, to support University of Chicago initiatives, develop and expand academic collaborations and foster collaborative programming and policy engagement in India and South Asia.

Aditi also served as Country Director for India with the US-India Business Council (USIBC) at the US Chamber of Commerce. At USIBC, Aditi was responsible for establishing the India office of the Council and growing the commercial and strategic partnership between the countries by leading charge on bilateral policy advocacy issues for USIBC’s diverse membership with a variety of stakeholders across a range of sectors.

She served on Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Cargill Global Scholars Selection Committee (April 2021) and was on the National Screening Committee for the Fulbright-Nehru CII Fellowship for Leadership Management (2010-2011).

Aditi currently serves on the Women Leadership Board at the Women and Public

Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as the Board of Trustees at Habiart Foundation (which promotes contemporary Indian Art).

She holds a M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago (USA) and Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Bristol University (UK).

Amy Paul is a communication and fundraising professional who has helped advance immigrant justice, community-driven public safety, and workers’ rights. She has worked for nonprofits including Possible Health and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. She has also served as a board member for Adhikaar for Human Rights. Amy holds a Master’s in International Affairs from the New School and an undergraduate degree in public policy from The University of Chicago. She lives in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Barsha is a product designer based in New York City. She graduated from Parsons School of Design with an MFA in Design and Technology and currently is working as a UX/UI designer and Front-End Developer at a nonprofit organization. She is also an avid guitarist and a movie critique.

Brittin is a development professional with extensive experience in Nepal. She holds a master's degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University.

Mamta Gurung Nyangmi has over 20 years of experience in international and community development. She has worked at the UN, at numerous international and national NGOs as well as the private sector. She provides strategic, programmatic, and organizational management to global and grassroots organizations in the US, South Asia, and South East Asia. With a focus on intersections of social protection, education, gender, ethnic and racial justice, Mamta understands that sustainable development occurs when systems are set up to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion of the marginalized and the vulnerable.

Born to a pastoral family in rural Nepal, Mamta has lived and worked in some of the most vibrant cities in the world including Kathmandu, Delhi and New York and uses these cross-cultural experiences to navigate complex situations and advocate for representation. She has a Masters in International Development from Cornell University, Bachelors in International Development from the City University of New York and, a BA Honors in English Literature from Delhi University. She is fluent in Nepali, Hindi, English and in her native tongue Manangi, is conversational in Tibetan and speaks basic Spanish.

Matti is a senior lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Helsinki, specializing in web development and cloud-based software engineering. A pioneer in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), he launched the Helsinki Programming MOOC in 2012. In 2018, he collaborated with several industry partners to initiate the Full Stack Open course series, which focuses on cutting-edge technologies. His courses have attracted thousands of participants worldwide. Matti is a strong advocate for open-access learning, releasing all his teaching materials under open licenses.

In addition to his teaching role, Matti is an active software developer. Together with his team, TOSKA, he builds systems used by several universities in Finland. He has also worked as a software developer at Nokia and the startup AppGyver, which was later acquired by SAP.

In his free time, Matti enjoys rock climbing and trekking in the Alps and occasionally in the Himalayas.

Navaraj is a development professional with over twenty-five years of leadership experience in Asia and Africa. Currently, he is a consultant for NGO management, strategy, and leadership, and he coaches and mentors senior managers. He is interested in organizational development, operational management, organizational change and leadership mentoring.

Prarthana (she/her) is a first-generation Nepali-American, born and raised in the U.S., and currently serves as the Director of Campaigns & Communications at Adhikaar, a community and worker center that organizes the Nepali-speaking immigrant and refugee community. Prarthana brings to TEJ a decade of experience in building campaigns and bridging communications for social justice movements spanning from worker rights, immigration, environmental justice, police accountability, and public health. She currently resides in Queens, New York City.

Ramesh Singh is currently a freelance consultant and volunteer living in and working from Asia (Bangkok – Kathmandu).

Strategy review, evaluation and development, public policy advocacy, NGO design, governance and architecture, integrity and accountability systems, strategic leadership teaching, training and mentoring are his areas of interest, learning and expertise.

Ramesh Singh has worked in leadership roles at country, regional and global levels in development, human rights and environmental international organizations. He has lived in and worked from South and Southeast Asia; West, East and Southern Africa; North America; and Western Europe. He has also served in governance roles of various international organisations.

Ramesh was educated as an agronomist/seed technologist. He has been a visiting fellow at Institute of Development Studies UK; Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs US and, Harvard Kennedy School US.

He has done recent consultancy and pro-bono work at Amnesty International, Africans Rising Movement, Greenpeace India, ActionAid, WaterAid, International Development Economist Associates and Women or Women International.

Todd Rodgers is the CTO at Haven Technologies, a new SaaS company that leverages an industry leading technology platform to help carriers deliver new products and digitally transform their operations.

Prior to launching Haven Technologies, Todd was CTO at Haven Life, a life insurance startup that takes a customer-centric, digital approach to improving the life insurance buying experience. In this role, Todd oversaw development teams to ensure delivery of a next generation customer experience in the life insurance industry.

Todd has extensive leadership experience in defining and delivering large-scale strategic technology platforms in financial companies. Prior to joining Haven Life, he was at Citi Private Bank where he managed global development teams that worked to address complex financial needs of high-value clients.